First Indonesian Musings (to be continued….)

1.   My very first interaction with strictly Indonesian people was when I walked down the corridor in the airport to wait at the gate for my airplane.  The term “bule” would soon become a common part of my speech, but at that time, the only phrase I knew was running through their minds was, “white girl!” Yep, I’m a bule. And everyone stares at bules. Anyway, this flight was very different from any other flight I’ve ever taken. Not in how I was treated, but in the noise level. Indonesians are social! During the 5-hour flight, people were talking the entire time. Loudly. Even when the lights were off.  People were talking and laughing with the people next to them, down their row, and when that wasn’t enough interaction for them, they would stand and talk with someone who was several rows away.  It was very entertaining!

That’s been, by far, my favorite observation about the people here in Indonesia. They are very good talkers, listeners, and laughers.

2.  Driving from the airport to my house, it looked very much like the streets you would see in any third-world country. Very similar, in fact, to the scenery when we were driving in the capital of Nicaragua just a month ago.  Small houses lining the streets. Vendors selling their daily produce and homemade food. Cars and bikes crowding the streets, fighting to get through. Our drive took us past a lot of places that have a high poverty level as well as areas that have very nice homes.  The part of Surabaya where I live, though, is in a pocket of upper middle class houses with gates and security guards surrounding the neighborhoods. It is starkly contrasted with the homes very close by. I feel safe though. (That’s for you, Mom!)

3. I have eaten out more in the past 6 days than I have in a month in America. Well… maybe that’s not true, but it feels like a lot! It’s what everyone does for meals here.  A lot of the food is fried (fried noodles, fried rice, fried bread, fried meat), but there are also a lot of non-fried foods as well. It’s so fun to try different foods! I have an ongoing list of recommended foods that I need to try, which will be fun. I like lists.  Also, food is extremely  cheap here. I have spent between $1 and $2.50 for my meals. And most of the time, I have plenty left over to eat later on.

4. Mosquitoes love me.

5. I get stared at a lot. Apparently, Americans don’t travel to Surabaya too often, so when they see a tall 

(yes, I’m SO tall here!), white, blond girl, they have to look at her. I’m not quite used to that yet.